"30 Days in May:" The Ups and Downs of Floyd Mayweather

Showtime cameras followed Floyd Mayweather between May 5 and August 5 last year, and caught the fighter battling himself, his out-of-the-ring demons, as he looked at a three months jail stint for having a fight with his ex. Mayweather was sentenced in December 2011 for a September 2010 incident involving the mother of three of his four kids and fight fans got to see him dealing with the looming incarceration up close and intimate, in an hour-long documentary called "30 Days in May."

In the opening scene, we see Floyd enroute to jail, on June 1. He complains to a pal that people stab people and get similar time, and that there were no marks on his ex. "Sometimes shit happens," he says, getting out of the 'woe is me' mode. Floyd heads into court, and he says that the time away will show him who's really in his corner. We see him cuffed, and led out of court.

Floyd, doing a voiceover, said he dreamed that he'd put butts in seats like Tyson, Ali, Sugar Ray. He gets his hands wrapped for the Miguel Cotto fight, does pads to get sweaty with Roger, heads into the ring. His pal 50 Cent's face is blurred out, as he strolls to the ring holding Floyd's belt. Did he not sign a release, or did Floyd ask for the blurrage as payback for their beef? We don't know.

The cameras saw Floyd showering, and we saw his butt. He said he drank Mountain Dew after his win and he washed three or four times to make sure he didn't have blood on him. Justin Bieber is seen chilling with Floyd's kids, and then with the boxer. "This is the future of entertainment," Floyd says, clapping Biebs.

Mayweather is asked postfight about a Pacquiao fight. He says he is his own boss and Pacman has a boss he answers to. Lamenting music, melancholic keyboards, play while Floyd heads to his pad. That musical tone hangs over basically the entire film, as the atmosphere isn't electric, charged, upbeat.

He sits on a sofa, muses 26 days before jail. "it's gonna be what it's gonna be," he says, his tightened face betraying an inner worry.

The family chows down, and we hear Floyd's mom Deborah Sinclair talks about tough times growing up. She doesn't like people mistaking his kindness for weakness, she says.

Mayweather says we do get wiser as we get older; I used to think that was a given, now I know better. It is implied that with him doing time at 35, this might not be the case for him, either.

We see stacks of green in the crib, and Hasim Rahman gushes about Money. They talk about who he'll fight next, Andre Berto or Victor Ortiz. Floyd says he thought about being richer than The Jackson when he was little; I guess he did beat Marlon, Randy, Tito, and Jermain, and of course, stacks aren't doing Michael any bit of good now.

He gets a mani and pedi and declares himself down to earth, getting zapped by a little Bravo style editing.

At the Mayweather Boxing Club, a cousin talks about growing up in Grand Rapids. A pal says that Floyd cares about training kids, and he "gives back." The pal says the fighter is good for Vegas, for the economy, mainly.

"I don't think I'm untouchable," he admits. "I think I'm blessed." He attends a Drake show and is mobbed by picture takers. "No one owes me nothing..but respect that's all I ask. I've been good to this city...not good, great," he says. He brings about a billion dollars in three days around fighttime, he supposes.

Floyd says there are a lot of leeches out there. He tells Drake to be true to himself, and thinks he can be a legend. He took his two boys and his daughter to see the entertainer and calls it a "great night."

The boxer says that he's often quiet. We see him watching a news story on his case, on his sentence being postponed. His missus, Miss Jackson, says she doesn't talk much about the stint. "I know it's on his mind," she says. "I honestly don't think he's ready," she says, haltingly, with refreshing candor. Being alone will be tough for him, she says, with him being a people pleaser.

He's outgoing when more people are around, with them two, it's mellow, she says. The stint could seem like "a lifetime" because he will be told what to do. He might chafe at being told what to do, she says. "I don't know how well that's gonna sit with Floyd," she says. "I think this time might change some thing. I think it will make him listen to himself more."

He talks about who is around him, friends, staff. Fifteen days before jail, he talks about hookups. He likens girls to cars, and says he can take care of a bunch of cars at the same time. Miss Jackson says she lets him be him, and that's cool.

Floyd says people judge without knowing him. He goes on a radio show, in Atlanta, and they marvel over his husky bodyguard. They ask about his "vacation" coming up. He says he will turn the negative into a positive and live in the moment.

He hits a strip club, and throws cash at girl's bum. In a hotel room, Floyd dances and half naked and fully naked ladies prance about. He poses and makes muscles while hotties grind around him. Pal Jackie Long says he hooks his pals up with trips, and lots of goodies. We see Floyd's closet, and he has tons of clothes.

In another hotel room, after clubbing, Floyd and the gang chills. "If you smoke marijuana, just don't do it around me," he says. He doesn't drink, he says, and that's why he's lasted so long, he says. "Why shouldn't I have fun," he asks. "I play hard, I'm going to work harder, so, I like to play."

He says when the party fades, he's still comfortable.

Ten days before jail, he is seen. Mom says "he's learning."

He is seen with Bieber, during his daughter's birthday bash. Then he plays some blackjack and cashes in chips. A guy comes up to him and asks, "Can you punch my wife in the face?" and he grimaces, as he's exiting a casino.

Floyd is now in the weight room. Then, in a pool, Floyd says HBO is "foul." He says he is seen like a prostitute, and knows he will get dumped when he's not fresh.

He's the most powerful person in boxing, he says, as we see him on D day, the night he's headed to Clark County Detention. He juggles some bill stacks, goofs around, and a pal says that Floyd seems fine with doing the stint.

Uncle Roger says he is sort of unclear on what happened to land Floyd in jail. The sun rises, and Floyd says maybe he's getting punished for something else he's done in his life. He gets his head shaved and rails against his sentence. He says he won't be rude in jail, and will conduct himself "like a gentleman." Miss Jackson says Floyd didn't do the crime and shouldn't do the time. "How can a lie get so far," she says. Do they not like him, maybe because he's black and successful? "I think, is that really what it is?"

He hands out cash to a few folks, and is in a car, headed to the pokey. Being black, rich and outspoken means there are three strikes against him in the court, he says. He says the charges are trumped up, and in cuffs, is ushered to the pen.

Miss Jackson says she thought maybe he'd get a slap on the wrist, like Lindsay Lohan. We hear a TV news show talking about his lawyers' appeal to soften his time, because he complained about the conditions. Another pal says the charges weren't righteous.

We see a local NBC report talking about his release, which came a month early.

He says he didn't care about money in the pen, he just cared about being free, about walking in the park. He said he asked every night to be let out. "I got through it," he said. He exits the center, and hugs his pals and kids. He drives away, a camera in the back seat. "That was the best night of my life," he says, better than winning a title. "You can't stop me," he repeats, jacked up, while driving home. He insists he's a different person, but he says he got madder and madder in jail. "Mentally I'm effed up from the situation," he said.

He gets a pedi, chows, and rails still about the stint. He doesn't care about the backlash, he says. "Tough times don't last, tough people do," he says.

My takeaways: Props to Showtime for getting all this material. I don't believe it changed how I see Floyd much if at all. He didn't show a much softer side, let down the guard, admit to fears and insecurities. He did admit that he prayed to get out of jail, but we knew with his request for better conditions that he wasn't caring for the term. We knew he didn't agree with the sentence and that all along, he's protested that his ex didn't have any marks on her, and that the absence of marks indicates an absence of guilt. The biggest helping of candor came from Miss Jackson, who admitted she didn't know if he was ready to be away from the adoring posse, in a place where he wasn't in control. I'd be curious to know how he reacted to her candor. My wife took in some of the material, pronounced Floyd a not nice word, and left the room. I think that's sort of mission accomplished for him; he's a button pusher, and when he fights Robert Guerrero next month, my wife will be watching, rooting for Guerrero to lay some humility on Mayweather.

this was a very very melancholy show... almost depressing. the tone... the switching back to black and white almost reminded me of a story about a blues singer.

Floyd sharing Strip Clup philosophy and his closest friend bragging that he was lucky that Floyd treats him like a Kid...(as in everyday is Christmas)

Also the focus was on his percieved greatness. It was embarrasingly egotistic and shallow.

As much as I appreciate Floyd's skills in the ring... his vid was a bonefide letdown.

stormcentre says:

I actually found it better than some of his other 24/7 instalments. However, whenever Floyd is given too much control and/or limelight such outcomes are inevitable.

amayseng says:

Didn't see it but from browsing this article just as I expected

let's allow the show to be about what Floyd feels he is, the VIcTIM

in everything.

I got news for ya.

Floyd can afford the best lawyers in the world, if he was innocent he would not

have gone to jail.

And my God Floyd, it was county jail, man up. Kinda weak if u ask me.

I mean who asks to get out of jail everyday because the "living conditions don't meet his standards" ?????

Haha. I mean grow a pair and save face.

The dude has no humility.

The man has no respect for anyone.

He's engaged but lives a life with women and strippers all over him.

Ya that's respectful.

Dude is 36 and acts like he's 18.

Carmine Cas says:

I didn't watch it either but Floyd is hypocrite, plain and simple. He says he's closer to 40 than 21 but he acts like he's 18

jzzy says:

Indeed, we see this kind of emotional arrested development in alot of modern athletes who've been coddled and pampered
their whole life. Floyd's life is going to get alot rougher beginning on May 4th when he discovers his athletic ability diminished.
With each tick of the clock, he's closer to the end of his career, then what ??

amayseng says:

I watched some I the cotto fight yesterday

and what I noticed is that mid fight it took

Floyd 3 rounds to get his second wind.

SouthPaul says:

Miss Jackson, she was the most interesting person on the documentary. She gets it. Smart enough to know ain't too many men in that situation going to be faithful so why bother even trying to buy into the agony of monogamy . I think I may be in love with her. Floyd, watch your women when I am in Vegas!

brownsugar says:

More than a few sports announcers have said that Tiger Woods downfall was "too many women" and jokingly said that he saw a brothel in Woods backyard. Could their be a correlation?

SouthPaul says:

A bit, but, to Floyd and Miss Jackson's credit .... They ain't fronting out like they're some Ward and June Cleaver types. Tiger seem to fit that mold which is why he caught so much grief. I ain't advocating all Floyd does but yea... Even though a lot of what he does seems like a script .... At least he still puts it out there like this is what I do to have fun. His 36 doesn't have to be your 36. Not all folks are living their life from a traditional handbook guide . Different behavior comes and different times for some people. Do your thing, mijo, free will! One thing I saw out of Floyd I respect highly is...he wasn't getting all liquored up to have his fun.

brownsugar says:

A bit, but, to Floyd and Miss Jackson's credit .... They ain't fronting out like they're some Ward and June Cleaver types. Tiger seem to fit that mold which is why he caught so much grief. I ain't advocating all Floyd does but yea... Even though a lot of what he does seems like a script .... At least he still puts it out there like this is what I do to have fun. His 36 doesn't have to be your 36. Not all folks are living their life from a traditional handbook guide . Different behavior comes and different times for some people. Do your thing, mijo, free will! One thing I saw out of Floyd I respect highly is...he wasn't getting all liquored up to have his fun.

So Floyd gets a better grade for discretion....I didn't look at it that way but makes sence.

amayseng says:

so southpaul you like and respect floyd for being honest and out there about being engaged to be married yet acting like he is not engaged and to be married by being with other women?
doesnt that defeat the whole purpose of being engaged and being married?

i dont respect miss jackson at all for allowing that and selling herself short...

if you think we shouldnt hold floyd to the same "handbook" we live from then maybe floyd shouldnt take

marriage from our "handbook"

marriage is a sacrament between a man, woman and God.
that is in the bible.

it isnt between a man, woman and every other woman the man wants for the day...

that goes against the whole concept..

floyd should do what i do, date and dont commit, then he has no responsibility in that fashion...

but southpaul if you respect that and those are your values that is cool.

but i and along with most people have been raised with different morals and values...

SouthPaul says:

I respect free will--- live and let live. The way Floyd chooses to live has no affect on me one way or another. If him and whatever she is to him..that being Miss Jackson ....if she is ok with sharing Floyd... So be it. I ain't trying to impose mine or your lifestyle on others, Amayseng.

And why is it people who live by the lord... Who live by the standards of the bible...why they always the most judgmental sob's???? Lmfao.

So to be clear! I ain't advocating or condoning every detail of Floyd's lifestyle. All I am advocate is FREE WILL.

finally had a chance to sit down and watch the full show up close without interruption.

I was completely off base on my first assessment.

the quality of the production was excellent.

lighting, camera, work, audio, atmosphere... .... top of the line.

I now recognized what I didn't the first time around...

the melancholy and subdued mood... even when Floyd and company were at their most joyful was because of the impending jail time.

and the production company captured that perfectly.

Floyd actually makes a few hilarious comments, especially how he explains the shock of leaving the lap of luxury, to being thrown in the Hole.

When asked about the Jail-time Floyd says candidly "I'm still F'ckd up".

it's also very noticable that they chose to miraculously, eliminated virtually all presense of 50Cent from the video... except maybe one split second cameo.

still not better than the season finale of the Walking Dead,.. but pretty close.

brownsugar says:

so southpaul you like and respect floyd for being honest and out there about being engaged to be married yet acting like he is not engaged and to be married by being with other women?
doesnt that defeat the whole purpose of being engaged and being married?

i dont respect miss jackson at all for allowing that and selling herself short...

if you think we shouldnt hold floyd to the same "handbook" we live from then maybe floyd shouldnt take

marriage from our "handbook"

marriage is a sacrament between a man, woman and God.
that is in the bible.

it isnt between a man, woman and every other woman the man wants for the day...

that goes against the whole concept..

floyd should just date around and dont commit, then he has no responsibility in that fashion...

but southpaul if you respect that and those are your values that is cool.

but i and along with most people have been raised with different morals and values...

I'm old enough to remember when there was a Dad in every home including my own.
and divorcees' were considered to wild lustful vixen, perpetrating the devil's work.

in fact you could count the number of divorced households on one hand.
That was until I found out at the age of 12 that my own parents had been divorced for 2 years.
Dad was still bringing groceries home twice a week and spending the night every once in a while to give the appearance that everything was alright. ... that's how much of a stigma divorce had in those days.
But eventually reality did set in.....

So I can agree with Amayseng that the moral majority has quickly become the moral minority.

Floyds lifestyle parallels the lifestyle of the majority of weathy movie stars, sports figures and Celebrities who choose to live in "open" marriages... swap wifes and get annual anullments.

only without the drugs and alchohol usage.

by secular standards Miss Jackson abides in a very coveteous position.
there are many women who would love to play her position.
She knows the rules of the game and in not looking to get penalized by creating a foul.

Many people live in a 3 way or even a 4 way relationship hoping to be the last one holding the prize, I see it every day..
They call it a love triagle... but I heard someone in a movie call it the bermuda triagle because once you fall in it's hard to find the way out.

ali says:

Agreed!

I hope to never come off judging.

I'm a sinner like the next guy.

Amen!! We all fall short of god glory

ali says:

SouthPaul having a opinion and being judgmental basically go hand & hand. But I agree with u on most people who love by Bible standards r usually so judgmental when the Bible say we shouldn't be there is only one judge at the end of the say and that god in my opinion.

SouthPaul says:

Couldn't agree more, Ali. Had planned to make that very comment earlier but didn't want to be offensive to anyone . But yea, they certainly go hand in hand which is why I find myself rolling my eyes at people who play the ain't being judgmental hand, specially those bound by religious beliefs.

As for the divorce rate amongst celebrities ? IMO, it ain't a decline in morals as much as it is those people have the affordability to set themselves free of broken marriages . Most average folk stay to get paid, keep her cause it's cheaper. Buried in finances ...cars, boats, mortgages , high credit card debt, etc., so how in the world is the unhappy couple who fell out of lust/love a year after they got married going to be able to afford their own separate living quarters ? So, I ain't buying the higher moral code to the fullest as to why some people marry for life. Sell that to the docile and inexperienced..

Radam G says:

Danggit! A P-Playa goes to Macao, and this Universe goes ballistic on this and that subject. Wow! I shoulda, coulda, woulda took my sinning arse to that Money May get together to represent. But I was already in the doghouse. I gotta see that "30 Days in May."

BTW I'm a sinner. Not a beginner. I'm such a winner. With Big (Rev.) George Foreman and sons George, George and George later I'm gonna eat me some dinner. Hehehe! I'm going to hell in a bread basket. And I will probably see the Cali Humbug Ghost Guerrera there with his heat. Maybe he'd be there to shoot the devil in the @ss.

What double fudge! Too many d@mn Georges are in house. And they are BIG Texans! Holla!

ali says:

SouthPaul I feel u fam

deepwater says:

woman sink boxers more then anything else. honey traps are everwhere. ask bj bill clinton about his honey trap, or elliot spitzer,or gov peterson, or gay nj gov mcleevey who liked his trip to isreal so much, he brought back a gay israeli and put him in charge of nj homeland security. you can not make this stuff up. floyd is an adult and wants to swing with his whores so be it. live and let live. if the whores like it who are we to say anything. if grown men like to act like prostitutes and hang around floyd so he will give them crumbs then that is their right.

deepwater says:

woman sink boxers more then anything else. honey traps are everwhere. ask bj bill clinton about his honey trap, or elliot spitzer,or gov peterson, or gay nj gov mcleevey who liked his trip to isreal so much, he brought back a gay israeli and put him in charge of nj homeland security. you can not make this stuff up. floyd is an adult and wants to swing with his whores so be it. live and let live. if the whores like it who are we to say anything. if grown men like to act like prostitutes and hang around floyd so he will give them crumbs then that is their right.

brownsugar says:

proverbs says women and wine makes the heart weak.

I've seen some clips of the Money Man doing a little gym work.

no flash and no urgency... not the kind of effort you would expect to see from a champion who wants to keep his crown.

But he's done this so many times before, he would be the one to know how much and long training needs to be in order to be at peak readiness. nonetheless, I have to wonder how seriously he's taking this fight... and after watching the video,. how much of his concentration is still in the strip club. If I had all the money and access to all the beautiful women that Floyd had,.. it would be very difficult to think about boxing.

I gotta give Guerrero the Family-Man advantage going into the fight.

I think that was an aspect of Floyds life he could have saved until after the fight to share... in case he loses.

SouthPaul says:

Floyd didn't share anything too revealing in that documentary . Big deal, they showed clips of girls shaking their asses, everybody already knew he had a history of making it rain. He's been frequenting the clubs for years now and all along hardly losing a round. Ain't likely gonna be no different next Montgomery, my man.

Gimme' Immoral Money via solid, clear-cut decision .

brownsugar says:

Floyd didn't share anything too revealing in that documentary . Big deal, they showed clips of girls shaking their asses, everybody already knew he had a history of making it rain. He's been frequenting the clubs for years now and all along hardly losing a round. His ring behavior is polar opposite, total professional . Ain't likely gonna be no different next May, my man.

Gimme' Immoral Money via solid, clear-cut decision .

Lol.. ... No ..SP,
It wasn't like the all access videos we see backstage after a Rock or Rap concert.
Or what you would expect on location in Charley Sheen's trailer.
Anyway..they'll be showing more of the training the closer they get to the fight.
We'll see if he looks like his usual self

SouthPaul says:

Right. Stay tuned for current footage cause the majority of that was from over 7 months ago. Although, I saw a variety of positive stuff go down. Floyd parties yet he wasn't all liquored up. Floyd loves food but he doesn't show signs of gluttony behavior. He puts himself in the eye of the party storm without getting weathered . That takes extraordinary discipline. The harem of women? You know how many men wake up every morning running and exercising their asses off in hopes of achieving that, and, those who already have.... To maintain it?